Romania Trade, Exports and Imports

Romania saw an immediate change in its international trade scenario when it liberalized its trading system at the time of joining the European Union in 2007. Romania has been seeing a continuous increase in exports since 2003. Despite negative GDP growth in 2009, due to the global recession, the country’s exports grew 22.54%.

Romania Trade, Exports and Imports

Romania has always been plagued by trade deficit. While the estimated total exports in Romania amounted to $49.41 billion in 2009, its total imports were $76.17 billion. As of September 17, 2009, the country ranked 55 globally in terms of exports and 42 in terms of imports.

Leading exports include:

Machinery and equipment

Textiles and footwear

Metals and metal products

Machinery and equipment

Minerals and fuels

Chemicals

Agricultural products

Leading imports include:

Machinery and equipment

Fuels and minerals

Chemicals

Textile and products

Metals

Agricultural products

The countries with which Romania trades with are:

Export (as of 2008)

Germany 16.3%

Italy 15.4%

France 7.3%

Turkey 6.5%

Hungary 5%

Bulgaria 4.1%

Romania was the largest trading partner of the US among the Central-Eastern European countries until Ceauşescu's 1988 renunciation of the Most Favored Nation (non-discriminatory) trading status. However, now with Romania shipping only about 1.5% of its exports to the US, the world leader is no longer a crucial export partner.

Import (as of 2008)

Germany - 16.1%

Italy 11.2%

Hungary 7.3%

Russia 5.9%

France 5.6%

Turkey 4.9%

Austria 4.8%

Kazakhstan 4.5%

China 4.2%

In 2007, Romania exported approximately $40.25 billion worth of goods in the international market. Meanwhile, Romanian imports totaled $64.33 billion, resulting in the overall trade deficit of $24.1 billion.

Professor of Economics & Director of the Earth Institute at Columbia University. Special Adviser to the UN Secretary-General on the Millennium Development Goals. Founder & co-President of the Millennium Promise Alliance.

CEO and co-CIO of PIMCO. Served as President and CEO of the Harvard Management Company for 2 years, while also working at the IMF for 15 years. In 2008, his book "When Markets Collide", won the Financial Times award for Business Book of The Year in addition to being named as the one of the best business books of all time by The Independent.

Andrea Edwards has worked in marketing and communications all over the globe for 20 years, and is now focused on her passion – writing. A gifted communicator, strategist, writer and avid blogger, Andrea is Managing Director of SAJE, a digital communications agency, and The Writers Shop – a regional collaboration between the best business writers in Asia Pacific